I want to add my own experience to the lightning strike discussion. A
few years ago while I was flying my Europa in the east of France, there
were a few thunderstorms in the vicinity, the closest one was at least
ten miles away, good visibility and no rain. Suddenly I saw my passenger
removing his headset in a hurry and at the same time I felt electrical
discharges in my left hand fingers through the foam of the stick. This
lasted for a few seconds. My passenger told me he had received
discharges on his ears through the headset. There were no visible
lightning bolt nor audible thunder. Everything on the aircraft continued
to work properly and the rest of the flight was uneventful. No damage
was found on the aircraft after landing.
Since that day I try to fly far away from thunderstorms.
Remi Guerner
F-PGKL, XS S/N395 monowheel, 912S, Airmaster, 575 hours
|